Committee Republicans Reject Protections for Abortion Care
Contact Name: Marina Altschiller
Phone: (603) 271-3375
CONCORD – Today, in a party line vote of 3-2, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee (Senators Carson, Gannon, and French) voted Inexpedient to Legislate on SB 436, the Access to Abortion-care Act. The bill will next go before the full Senate for a vote.
After the vote, prime sponsor Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D-Portsmouth) and co-sponsors Senator Becky Whitley (D-Hopkinton) and Senator Jay Kahn (D-Keene) issued the following statements:
Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D-Portsmouth) stated, “There is currently nothing in place to ensure the right to have an abortion in New Hampshire. The Access to Abortion-care Act would have put abortion rights into state statute, regardless of what happens at the U.S. Supreme Court. As a mother, I have a deep respect for the fact that every pregnancy is unique. Today’s vote shows that our Republican colleagues are comfortable depriving half of our society of their rights - despite overwhelming public support for abortion to be a private decision together with their doctor. With the potential for Roe v. Wade to fall, Republicans have chosen not to defend or respect our rights - and it is Granite State women who will bear the consequences.”
Senator Becky Whitley (D-Hopkinton) added, “Today is a difficult today for women and pregnant people in New Hampshire. With reproductive rights on the line, with women’s right to equality on the line, with women’s freedom to control their own lives on the line, with 49 years of protections from Roe v. Wade on the line, I am deeply disappointed by the demonstrated lack of awareness by my Republican colleagues of the very real crisis that reproductive health care is currently facing. Their vote against this bill today ignores the overwhelming support for preserving abortion access in New Hampshire. The Access to Abortion-care Act simply codifies a person’s right to abortion care up to the arbitrary date set by Republicans in last year’s budget. Reproductive health care is at a breaking point and today my Republican colleagues made it abundantly clear that they refuse to stand up for a women’s right to choose. That they don’t trust me or any other women or pregnant person to make our own reproductive choices or are worthy enough to understand the gravity of the extremely personal decision to terminate a pregnancy.”
Senator Jay Kahn (D-Keene) added, “I am deeply disconcerted by my Republican colleagues’ rejection of a woman’s right to liberty and self-determination. This was a simple bill that only went so far as to say New Hampshire supports the right to abortion care. I remain in fervent opposition to the abortion ban and will continue to advocate for a women’s right to choose and protections for comprehensive reproductive health care.”
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